Former Sen. John Edwards' supporters speak of his ability to disarm crowds with his Southern charm in the same mythical tones Star Wars fans use when referring to the Force. Edwards' powers were put to the test Wednesday when he delivered a passionate and personal plea asking UW-Madison students to commit themselves to a new fight against poverty.
The fact that Edwards wooed the hometown crowd of progressives is not surprising or even that significant. Indeed, anyone famous who speaks against President Bush in Madison these days receives a reception usually reserved for Bucky Badger. But Edwards did not rail against the president in search of applause; rather, he came to town full of what the Bush bashers lack most of the times: ideas.
Not only are Edwards' ideas original, but they are crafted in response to real problems. It is an unfortunate fact that many Democrats believe that Bush and his ilk are the exclusive cause of America's problems. But these people are fundamentally mistaken. Even if Democrats create political countermeasures to defeat the Republican party, all of America's problems won't just go away. Americans need to be doing what Edwards is doing'reassessing policy solutions to longstanding problems that affect not the balance of political power, but America's standard of living.
The actual content of Edwards' ideas are derived from his most famous campaign stump speech that described 'two Americas, one for people who have lived the American Dream and don't have to worry, and another for most Americans who work hard and still struggle to make ends meet.' During his speech, Edwards told the audience that poverty is the result of a lack of resources, not the lack of work.
An example of this was when he explained that 'while the average white family has $80,000 worth of recoverable assets, the average Latino family has just $8,000 and average African American family has just $6,000.' From the dense array of factors that cause poverty, Edwards constructed the overarching theme that poverty is due to the loss of a sense of national community. The mechanisms that exist to protect families from catastrophes have been priced out of the range of those families that need them the most. This is the reason, for instance, why more bankruptcies are the result of health care costs than any other factor.
To uplift the 38 million Americans that are in poverty, Edwards favors raising the federal minimum wage to $7.50 an hour, establishing a work bond system to encourage families to build up assets, and creating housing voucher programs. Although Edwards' speech outlined new policies, the political implications are impossible to ignore.
Issues like poverty and class relations that Edwards is using to build momentum for a possible 2008 bid at the White House are usually considered politically untouchable. They are issues to be avoided, not highlighted. As UW-Madison professor Joel Rogers notes, what makes Edwards distinctive from the rest of the 2008 Democratic probables is that not only is he talking about these so-called 'third-rail issues,' he is actually running on them. Not only does this make Edwards something of a maverick, it makes him the most classically liberal candidate Democrats have to choose from.
Another feather in Edwards' cap is that his own personal narrative serves to anchor his agenda to the public. Americans love people with stories, and this is why so many candidates try to construct themselves in a way that easily tells a story. Just think how many candidates define themselves as a rebel, an underdog or the accidental politician. Edwards has a great narrative. He never lets America forget that 'he is the son of a mill worker.' His working-class background and state-school education is a fresh break from the Harvard-Yale presidential pipeline.
Edwards' appeal, like all candidate's, has its limits'??after all, he did not carry a state for Kerry in 2004. His advocacy for the poor will win him many admirers, but it remains to be seen if it will win him votes. But one thing's for sure'his emphasis on poverty will force other candidates to pick up the issue, and that is something every American can benefit from.
